Story by Tamuka Charakupa
THE Agricultural and Rural Development Authority (ARDA) has joined forces with 300 farmers in Mashonaland West in a joint initiative to increase the production of traditional grains.
Under the outgrower programme, at least 15 000 hectares will be planted with traditional grains during this summer cropping season, contributing significantly towards the province’s 46 000 hectare grain production target.
“We have been relying on rain-fed agriculture for years, and yields have been going down. This programme gives us guaranteed inputs and support, and we are confident our output will improve. It is a huge relief for us,” farmer, Mr James Masango said.
“Inputs are expensive for an ordinary farmer. Being included in this ARDA Joint Venture means we can now go back to full production. We are grateful because this is the kind of support that revives our farms,” farmer Ms Doreen Nyaradzai said.
“Traditional grains are the way to go with the way the climate is changing. ARDA coming in with seed and technical assistance is a big boost. We expect better results this season,” farmer, Ms Martha Mataruse said.
At least 300 farmers from Mashonaland West are set to benefit.
“Inputs are already being distributed to farmers to support early preparations, and we are complementing this with the use of drones for field monitoring, precision spraying, and crop health assessments. This combination of timely support and modern technology is helping us improve efficiency and resilience across the entire farming season,” Joint Venture Coordinator, Mr Tichaona Mapfoche said.
“ARDA Seeds has been tasked to spearhead the development of drought-resistant seed varieties, which we are already supplying to farmers under our joint venture initiative. We remain open to partnering with established seed companies as we work to deliver the Presidential mandate of ensuring national food security,” Provincial Agronomist, Mash West, ARDA, Mr Aaron Chipatiso said.
ARDA Chief Executive Officer, Mr Tinotenda Mhiko, said this season they are scaling up production of traditional grains following successful performance of the model last season.
“For this season we are targeting to produce at least 40,000 hectares of traditional grains which is a 110 percent growth against prior year performance of 19,000 hectares. We are aggressively implementing and buttressing the government’s policy position on promoting production that is guided by agro-ecological tailoring of crops and in this instance we are providing our growers with a full input package which also comes with a drought tolerant and climate smart traditional grain seed variety. Agro-ecological tailoring will ensure that the farmers reap the highest possible benefits out of their cropping environment subsequently building sustainability and climate resilience for their value chains so as to achieve food self-sufficiency, food security and food sovereignty in line with the agriculture food systems and raw transformation strategy one and two as well as the NDS2 blueprints”, he said.
Mashonaland West Agritex Provincial Director Mrs Evelyn Ndoro confirmed the distribution of inputs is progressing well, with strong emphasis on drought-tolerant seed varieties.
“We are prioritising the rollout of drought-resistant varieties, particularly sorghum, millet and other small grains. The process is ongoing across districts, and we want all registered farmers to receive their allocations on time so they can plant within the recommended window. This is part of our climate-smart approach to ensure food security. As a province, we have a 46 000 hectare target, and we are grateful that ARDA has contributed at least 15 thousand hectares of that target,” she said.
The government is on record that increased production of traditional grains remains a top priority to enhance food and nutritional security, as the country adapts to the changing climatic conditions.
